An anonymous source familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press that federal prosecutors accused ICE agent Christian Castro of lying to investigators about the facts leading to the January 2026 shooting of Venezuelan man Julio Cesar Sosa Celis in Minneapolis during Operation Metro Surge. ^[1] A federal indictment unsealed on 2026-09-04 charges Christian Castro, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, with six counts of making false statements to investigators in the first Justice Department prosecution of a federal officer for actions during Operation Metro Surge. ^[2] Federal prosecutors withdrew charges against Julio Cesar Sosa Celis and another man, who had been accused of attacking an ICE agent with a broomstick and a snow shovel, after video evidence showed that agents may have lied about the incident during the Minneapolis standoff. ^[3] ProPublica reported that a federal prosecutor told lawyers for Julio Cesar Sosa Celis that Justice Department officials blocked a more serious civil rights charge against Christian Castro, while an anonymous source familiar with the investigation said the civil rights investigation continues and no final decision has been made. ^[4] Texas Governor Greg Abbott refused to immediately sign the extradition order for Christian Castro, who was released last week after a federal judge declined to order Texas to hand him over to Minnesota authorities. ^[5] Minnesota officials have separately charged Castro with assault and false reporting of a crime related to the nonfatal shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in January 2026. ^[6] The federal indictment alleges that Castro falsely told an FBI agent that a man grabbed a red broom off a front porch and hit him, and that another man hit him with a snow shovel, before he opened fire. ^[7] The federal indictment says 'No person struck' Castro 'with a broom as he described, and no persons wielded the broom and snow shovel as he described.' ^[8]